Getting Started

 Aloha and Hello!

Welcome to my mind! I have never blogged before in my life, so bear with me as I attempt to write down my thoughts and experiences. I've journaled throughout my life, but now that people may actually read what I am writing, I should probably filter some of my internal thoughts. Maybe, maybe not. But either way, here we go!

This all came about when I decided I wanted to travel to Sierra Leone aboard the Global Mercy Ship to volunteer as a ward nurse. I started to fundraise and look for sponsors, and my mother had this genius idea of starting a blog for my all my amazing donors to follow along my journey! So, here I am! Stay tuned to see more of me and my antics as I travel to Africa to bring hope and healing to Sierra Leone.  


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Two Days In

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Hebrews 12:12-13  Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.   Make level paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. Mostly it's been all orientation stuff. New crew orientation, ward orientation, ship orientation, and just getting my bearings. Like I said in my previous post, there was a huge group of us who just got on board and are all learning together, which is nice! I don't feel so new and so alone. Everyone has been great and super friendly.  I will be working as a ward nurse in C-Ward, the pediatric orthopedics unit! To be honest, I'm a bit nervous. I've never really loved peds, and kids kinda freak me out, but maybe thats a good thing! Whenever I don't feel totally comfortable doing something, or feel "clunky" with a skill, I usually try to seek it out on the unit and do it over and over with another nurse. That way I don't feel so intimidated. The anxiety leading up to something I feel is always
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So What Is Mercy Ships?!?

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 Cool! Great! So I’m going to go volunteer in Africa for 2 months with Mercy Ships…what is a Mercy Ship? Mercy Ships is an international charity based organization that operates large non-governmental hospital ships staffed with volunteer professionals to bring hope and healing to developing nations. Since starting in 1978, Mercy Ships visited more than 73 developed and underdeveloped nations world wide, with a focus on countries in Africa. One of the main services Mercy Ships offers are lifesaving medical surgeries for families suffering from disfiguring, painful and preventable diseases.  In other words, I will be working on a big floating hospital stationed off the coast of Africa! Patients come to the ship for their surgery and recovery; and from my understanding, I will be stationed as a ward nurse ON the ship.  I will be volunteering onboard their newest ship, the Global Mercy. With 6 operating rooms, it weighs approximately 37,000 tons, is 174 meters in length, and staffs ov
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SHOTS! SHOTS! SHOTS!

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And not the fun kind.  I am officially medically cleared to travel to Africa! Got all my vaccinations in order; from typhoid, to yellow fever, hepatitis, Covid, tetanus and everything in between. Honestly, being a travel nurse definitely helped with that. I constantly need to get proof of immunity for my job through bloodwork and boosters, so I really only needed to pay for my typhoid and yellow fever vaccines. Which I STILL think was an absurd amount, $500 just for a yellow fever vaccine!? But according to them, it’s a one and done. So I never have to get yellow fever again. And I can continue to travel to Africa (which I technically already went to Morocco a few years ago unvaccinated so whoops)!  Now just need to pick up my malaria and gastroenteritis pills and should be set for medical.  All that’s left is packing, planning, flights, and transportation to be done within the next 31 days. And just add in my nightshift job, Christmas, new years, birthdays, and a little bit of fun an
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